


D.I.Y (or, the five easy steps to becoming a god)

by fangirl_squee



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Fix-It, M/M, spoilers for SiH
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 15:23:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19726384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirl_squee/pseuds/fangirl_squee
Summary: Being a god is what you make it, anyway.





	D.I.Y (or, the five easy steps to becoming a god)

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to maddie, for looking this over, and to annie, for [her Inspirational art](https://twitter.com/dancynrew/status/1132549567210123266).

_ One; transformation _

It doesn’t feel like magic, when he does it. It feels as easy as breathing - in, he’s a halfling, out, he’s a bear, he’s a flock of birds, he’s a giant poisonous vole, he’s a sea squirrel.

Making new things was  _ fun _ , especially when they work and he can see them hopping or slithering or flying or some combination of those movements around the world. They didn’t flock to him, unless he gave them reason to, and they didn’t seem any more compelled to obey him than any other person, for which Fero was extremely thankful. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if hundreds of sea squirrels looked to him for guidance.

Still, he tried to do right by his creations, scattered as they are across the world, making sure they could eat something that was around, making sure the habitat they were likely to spawn in was something they’d like.

The new creatures talked, too, chattering amongst themselves in their new world. Fero tried to take note of the things they liked and the things they didn’t, tried to make sure that their hardships weren’t because of how he had made them. Mostly they weren’t - no creature’s life was perfect, after all.

Maybe, he thought, he’d try a plant next.

Samol always did say that gardening helped him think.

  
  


_ Two; listening _

After he’d lived in the forest for a while, years maybe, he started to be able to hear them. Or, not  _ hear  _ them, he could always  _ hear _ them, but he started to understand them, the swarking and chittering, what a bird meant by the tilt of its head or what a cougar was saying by the flick of its tail.

He’d never liked the chatter of Rosemerrow, people haggling over prices in the markets or gossiping or telling him how it was  _ much better in the old days _ . Forest chatter was different, all in the here and now, only looking forward to the new. Fero  _ loved _ it, he could lie by a stream and listen for hours to the birds overhead, chatting about their nest construction and where they’d seen the best berries.

Velas was  _ loud _ , after that, so he was loud right back, yelling to be heard over other people, or the ocean, or sword fights. 

And then it was winter. And then he was alone again, for the first time in a long time. It wasn’t as peaceful as remembered it being.

He talked himself hoarse of the way to the Mark of the Erasure. This time, there were no noises in the forest, no bird overhead or mice underground. There was only him.

It wasn’t really the same.

Samol was quiet, a stillness to him that reminded Fero of the old forest trees he’d lived among for so many years. Samol took his time telling his stories, like the old trees would, and Fero sat with him, always stretching their meals longer and longer so he could hear more of what Samol had to say.

“I’m sure you got better things to do that sit here listenin’ to me,” said Samol.

Fero shrugged. “Nah.”

Samol smiled. “Well all right.”

  
  


_ Three; a temple _

“Build something new” Samol had told him.

The University didn’t have room for new things. They were already cramped enough as it was without it. Most people were more concerned with rebuilding the old structures than starting new ones, even if those old structures were, in Fero’s opinion, too small for the amount of people they were planning to put in them.

The impulse itched at Fero, under his skin, making him more twitchy than usual, making him want to yell and throw something and get people’s attention because couldn’t they  _ see _ , this was the perfect opportunity to  _ start again _ , without all the old bullshit-

Fero knew, of course, what Throndir and Ephrim thought of him, when he’d left. It was the same thing they’d thought of him when he’d gone to the Erasure instead of with them, probably. He told himself that, just like back then, he didn’t care what they thought, didn’t need their help, didn’t  _ want _ it even. He could do this without them, just like he did everything.

He slept that night, deeply and without any dreams that he remembered. He awoke, warm and dry despite the dew around him, with the distinct feeling that he’d been mid-conversation with someone and feeling a great deal calmer than he had when he went to sleep.

He took a deep breath, looking up at the branches of Samol’s tree above him.

“Build something new,” said Fero, “all right, okay.”

It took him the better part of a week, on his own, to get the materials together to build even the most makeshift of shed, but it was  _ his _ .

“Tomorrow,” Fero said as he closed his eyes, “tomorrow I get started on the furniture.”

He awoke to a knock at the door. Rain pattered against the windows and dripped through a few leaks in the roof. Fero frowned up at them. At least the rain was a good test of this place, it would let him know right away if he needed to fix anything-

More knocking interrupted his thoughts. Fero sighed. If someone was coming to tell him it was against the rules to build here they could have at least waited until better weather. Still, if he didn’t see what they wanted they’d probably knock the building down with him inside it.

Fero braced himself for the yelling, and opened the door.

It wasn’t some kind of towering, angry authority figure.

It was two drenched teenagers, an orc and a human.

The orc cleared their throat. “Uh, hi.”

“Hey, hello,” said Fero, “What’s going on?”

“Uh... not much?” said the human.

She pushed the wet hair back from her face, and Fero could see her hand shaking.

“Oh, hey, you guys should probably like, come it,” said Fero, stepping aside.

The orc smiled gratefully, tugging on the human’s hand.

Fero glanced outside before he shut the door, squinting at the lights from the University in the distance. It didn’t  _ look _ like any kind of disaster was happening. He rummaged around in his pack for his spare blanket, holding it out to the teens.

“Sorry, I only have the one,” said Fero.

“We can, um. We can share?” said the orc.

Fero nodded. It had been a while since he’d had guests in anything approaching what might be a home. He tried to remember what you did with them.

“So, uh, what do you guys want?” said Fero.

“Can we stay here?” said the orc, speaking fast.

“I mean, I’m not going to push you out into the rain, so I mean, I guess?” said Fero. “For how long?”

“Uh,” said the orc, “just overnight?”

The human snorted. “Get real. More like, at least a week.”

“Come on, your parents are pretty chill,” said the orc, “they’ll calm down-”

“ _ You _ come on Rae!” snapped the human, “they are  _ not _ chill, they’re  _ Ordennans _ .”

“So are  _ you _ !” said the orc.

“Hey, whoa whoa whoa,” said Fero, holding up his hands, “first of all, you can totally stay but I don’t have any, like, beds or anything right now so I don’t know how long term you want to make this. And second of all, what does being Ordennan have to do with anything? I know some nice Ordennans!” He paused. “Well. I know  _ one _ nice Ordennan. I know one Ordennan who’s okay.”

“It’s-” began Rae.

“ _ Complicated _ ,” interrupted the human, “really, super complicated, and I-  _ we _ just need some space to get away from them, for a bit, and there’s, like,  _ no _ space at the University, so.”

Fero nodded. “Alright.” He paused. “How worried do I need to be about angry parent Ordennans busting through my door?”

“You- they’re fine,” said Rae, “they’ll knock. Probably.”

“Okay,” said Fero, and mentally added reinforcing the door to his mental list of things he needed to do tomorrow.

Rae and the human, Octavia, stayed for a week, helping Fero patch the roof and find things he could turn into furniture in-between walking back to the University to argue with Octavia’s parents. 

Fero never asked what the arguments were about and Octavia didn’t offer, but he recognised the twitchyness she had whenever she and Rae returned from one of those trips, on edge, packing and then unpacking their stuff, arguing about the practicality of standing by what they thought. 

He ended up making them a bed. Sometimes it was easier to make a decision about something when you weren’t pushed a particular way by the need for a place to sleep.

“You can stop by and use it whenever you want. Just in case they’re ever not-chill about anything,” said Fero.

Octavia nodded, swallowing hard. “Thanks.”

“Hey, no problem,” said Fero, shrugging, “I know what it’s like to want to get away.”

The small building felt quiet without them, even with the weather making a racket outside. Fero sighed, listening to the wind outside howling. Another cold night. At least the hut was holding together better now, no leaks-

There was a knock at the door.

“I didn’t think they’d get unchill so fa- Oh,” said Fero, “You’re not Octavia.”

“Who?” said the woman, “Listen, can I come in? It’s  _ freezing _ out here.”

Fero stepped back to let her in. She let the three packs she was carrying drop by the doorway. Behind her trailed two kids, shivering almost as much as the woman was. They gather behind the bags, half-hidden.

“I heard this was a place where you could stay,” said the woman, her voice low and urgent, “if you didn’t want to be at the University anymore.”

“I- Yeah,” said Fero, “I guess it is.”He paused. “How long do you need to stay?”

He added more rooms, eventually, building them out and adding furniture, big, communal kitchens, and figured out how to add bathrooms. And the more he built, the more he got people asking to stay.

Not that people were leaving the University in droves (or, no more than they already had been). People came by themselves, with someone or a few someones, just wanting a  _ break _ , just wanting to  _ get away _ . As much as Fero liked being alone, it didn’t feel right turning them away, even if things were always a little bit squeezy before he’d add on another room or two.

After all, he knew what it was like to need to  _ get away _ . And he knew what it was like trying to do that with nothing, trying to start from scratch in the cold of winter. It sucked, to feel trapped, to feel like it was either stuck in the University or alone with nothing. It felt good, in a way, to be the one to be able to give that to other people.

As the building grew, he carved a sign and nailed it to the front of the Outhouse.

_ The Outhouse _ , it read,  _ All Welcome _ .  _ Stay as long as you like. _

  
  


_ Four; restoration _

It started because Emmanuel mentioned, in passing, that he missed a particular kind of songbird that had lived in Narce.

“It was a beautiful bright green,” said Emmanuel, leaning back against Lem’s side, “and it had this long tail-”

Lem choked a little on his soup. “A  _ tail _ ?”

Fero sat forward with interest.

Emmanuel waved a hand. “Tail  _ feathers _ -”

“Oh,” said Fero, sitting back.

“-long ones, that would ripple in the air as it flew,” continued Emmanuel, “There were some that used to live in the park by my- by where I used to live, in Nacre.” He sighed. “They really were quite beautiful.”

“I’m sure you’ll see them again,” said Lem.

“I think their only home was Nacre,” said Emmanuel, “perhaps after you save Hieron they will come back.”

Lem squared his shoulders. “Right. Yes.” He paused. “You know, this soup is very good today, are you doing something new with the recipe?”

The conversation moved on. As Fero walked back to the Outhouse that night a flock of ravens soared overhead, and he thought about the strange bird Emmanuel had described. He was pretty sure he had seen them when he had gone to the Nacre zoo, the bird’s long tails of green and blue trailing behind them like ribbons.

He frowned at the ground as he walked. So many things had been lost, by his magic working in a weird way or the Heat and the Dark or the stars. There was probably a lot of animals and birds and plants that people missed, especially people from Nacre, people who had been very nice to him even though they were dating his friend who was sometimes a  _ terrible _ boyfriend.

It was too bad, he thought, that he couldn’t bring things back like that, like beautiful green birds with long, delicate tails and their soft, squeaky birdsong- Fero stumbled, a wave of tiredness washing over him suddenly. He put a hand on a nearby tree, trying to clear his fuzzy head.

Something fluttered above him, bright enough to catch his eye in the moonlight. Fero looked up, his breath catching in his throat.

Staring down at him was a green bird with very long blue-green tail feathers.

“What,” said Fero.

The bird tilted its head at him, letting out a soft, squeaky trill before fluttering off, its tail feathers rippling in the breeze. Fero rubbed a hand over his face. When he looked back, there was no sign of the bird.

“Weird,” said Fero.

He stayed under the tree for a few more minutes, but the bird didn’t reappear, probably because he was imagining things. He’d go to sleep, that would fix whatever had just happened.

The first thing Fero saw when he stepped outside the new morning was a bright green bird with very long tail feather. Only this time, there was two of them.

Fero blinked at the birds. The birds birds right back at him.

“Aren’t you guys supposed to be like, evaporated in the Heat and the Dark?” said Fero.

One of the birds tilted its head at him.

Fero narrowed his eyes. “Hmm. Okay.”

It turned out there was more than just the two birds to watch. It was strange to walk into the University and see so many flashes of bright colour. Fero counted maybe twenty as he made his way through the University to the meeting hall.

Lem waved to him as he entered. “Fero, have you seen those  _ birds _ ?”

“Yeah,” said Fero, “I thought Emmanuel said they were all gone?”

“I guess not!” said Lem, “I suppose I’m glad about it, he was so happy to see them this morning, even if it is very strange.”

“Yeah,” said Fero. He slid into the seat beside Lem, swinging his legs back and forth for a moment thoughtfully. “Do you think the Heat and the Dark brought them back?”

Lem blinked. “I… don’t think so. I mean, we certainly haven’t seen it do anything like that before. Besides, why would it bring back a  _ bird _ ?”

“Maybe it liked Nacre,” said Fero.

“I don’t think the Heat and the Dark can  _ like _ things,” said Lem.

“Hey, if it can bring back a bunch of birds who knows,” said Fero.

Fero visited Uklan Tel, after. Despite being  _ tremendously _ excited about this new development, he didn’t really have any more of an idea about how or even  _ if _ the Heat and the Dark were involved, so after a few hours of listening to Uklan talk about his potential experiments Fero left him to it.

He considered talking to other people, or even going to the library. Fero made a face. Too hard. He’d just go ask the Heat and the Dark.

It took him a little while to find a patch of it under the Spring. He sat down, careful not to get too close to it or the Spring, just in case. Fero reached out with his mind, questioning, poking at the Heat and the Dark.

He jerked back. It was like putting your hand in the fire, or a frozen lake, or, no, it was like both at once, somehow. No way had the birds come out of there. Fero frowned, flopping back on the grass.

A bird fluttered, landing on the branch above him and peering down at him curiously.

Fero raised a hand, poking at it. “Hey! You! How did you get here?”

The bird made a soft trilling sound.

“Oh,” said Fero, “Right.”

He closed his eyes and breathed out, slowly letting his awareness of the world fall away beneath him until it was just him and the bird, glowing bright in his mind.

_ Where did you come from _ ?

The light that was the bird pulsed, thin stings of light illuminated in the dark of Fero’s mind, connected to other birds, but also connected to-

Him.

Fero’s eyes snapped open. “I didn’t do it!”

The bird let out a soft trilling noise before fluttering off. Fero watched it go, sitting up slowly. His head was swimming. He could feel the other birds now, everywhere, all over what was left of Hieron, connecting back to him like plants were connected to the soil.

Okay. So he had, maybe, brought back some birds.

This was.

He needed to test this.

This time, he  _ did _ go to the library, flicking through a couple of books before he gave up and went searching for Devar instead.

“Hey,” said Fero.

Devar dropped the stack of books he was holding. “Don’t sneak up on me like that man!”

“I wasn’t sneaking,” said Fero, “I’m just naturally quiet.”

Devar snorted, bending to pick up the books. “Right.” He paused. “What are you doing down here anyway?”

Fero huffed a breath, picking up a couple of books, thinking. “I want to ask you a question.”

“Okay,” said Devar slowly.

“What’s an animal that you miss?” said Fero.

“... What?”

“What’s an animal that you miss seeing around?” said Fero, “Or plant, I guess. That might work too.”

“Why?” said Devar.

“I’m looking for more things that have been gone but then come back,” said Fero.

“You… what?”

“Look, do you have an animal you miss or don’t you?” said Fero.

“I… uh,” Devar was silent for a moment, thinking. “There was this kind of big cat that lived in the mountains near the Archives when I was growing up, with this long ears. My moms used to do patterns with their paw prints and stuff so we’d go there a lot. I haven’t seen them since the Archive went down, so I guess they’re gone-” Devar sighed. “This is a real bummer thought experiment.”

“Not if it works,” said Fero.

“What?”

“Bye Devar!”

Fero ran away from the University, heading into the forest where it was quiet and still. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

He knew the big cat Devar had meant. There’d been some in the cave a little way from his own cave home, and he used to change into one and play with the older cubs. Sometimes, in the winter, he’d bring them food, and one of the older ones would blink at him in approval, stately in a way that seemed grander than any Rosemerrow official ever had.

There was the sound of a twig snapping in front of him, and Fero opened his eyes.

A cat stared right back, long ears and speckled fur exactly how he remembered it. It blinked at him, and Fero blinked back. It felt like the right thing to do.

The cat yawned, casually rising and padding away into the forest.

“Holy shit,” whispered Fero.

It took him a little while to get back. Whatever he was doing, it  _ really  _ took it out of him. He crawled straight into bed the moment he reached his room and was asleep before he’d even managed to get properly settled under the blankets.

He awoke with the next sunrise, still feeling a little tired, but with enough energy to get out of bed. From his window, he could see Samol’s tree on the hill.

Well. He  _ could _ use the advice.

It took him a little longer than usual to make it up the hill, flopping down under the tree as he reached it.

“I don’t know if I’m cut out for this,” said Fero. He groaned, pushing himself up until he was sitting back against the tree.

The tree, of course, said nothing. This tree was always curiously silent, despite feeling like the most alive tree Fero had ever been near.

“I mean,” said Fero, “I don’t even know if I  _ should _ be doing this. What if an animal someone misses is a real jerk about it, or they come back wrong, or the magic goes weird again and I replace something that’s in the world already?”

The wind rustled the leaves of the tree.

“Oh, you’re no help,” said Fero, “how am I supposed to know what to do with this?”

The tree stayed silent.

“Come on,” said Fero, “you could at least give me a  _ hint _ .”

The leaves above him rustled again, and Fero looked up. It was one of the new-old green birds. It made a trilling noise and then launched itself from the branch, flapping a few times before soaring away.

Fero watched it fly, away from the University, towards the valley where Rosemerrow had once been.

It was still there, sort of. A little patchy with starstuff and the Spring, and the part of it that had been the coast was totally gone, but other than that-

“Wait,” said Fero. He looked up at the tree. “Is  _ that _ what I’m supposed to do?”

The tree was, as always, silent.

Fero made a face. “I mean… I guess it can’t hurt. It’s not like anyone’s there, and it can’t get any  _ worse _ , right?” Fero huffed a laugh. “Yeah, I mean, it always  _ can _ , but… hmm. Okay.”

He closed his eyes and thought of the long stretch of beach along the coast of Rosemerrow, how the waves sounded, how the sand faded into the soil of Hieron and how it made up the floor of the small caves that had dotted the coastline. He thought of the rock pools, and summer festivals, and the tiny creatures that made the sand their home.

He could feel the Heat and Dark flinch back, pushing against the sand. Fero bit his lip, slapping a hand down on the trunk of the tree as he steadied himself, gritting his teeth as he pushed back. Time seemed to stretch, an eternity grating past until the flames gave way, and the sand poured forth. 

When he opened his eyes again, the sun was just slipping below the new horizon. Fero winced, stiff and covered in sweat, stretching his arms over his head. He looked out over the valley and laughed, his voice a harsh croak of sound.

In the moonlight, he could see the glimmering shore of Rosemerrow.

“I did it,” he said, to himself and maybe a little to the tree.

The tree swayed above him in the breeze. This time, it felt like a response.

  
  


_ Five; resurrection _

Fero didn’t need to sleep, but he did  _ like _ to. It was a good way to pass the time at night, when most other people were asleep and it was too dark and cold to get much done on the Outhouse. He liked how hazy the world felt as he woke up too, the cozy warm feeling of blinking away sleep.

It was less cozy when he woke up beside Samol’s tree.

It didn’t happen every night, not enough that he felt worried about it. It wasn’t as though he didn’t remember going to the tree, bringing a blanket with him even. It was just sometimes, there was this  _ itch _ at the back of his mind, one that wouldn’t be still until the moment he lay a hand on Samol’s tree.

It was still as silent as ever, but the silence felt more companionable now. Less like the tree was ignoring him and more like it was comfortable enough to be silent in his presence. It felt good to sleep against the side of the tree, even if he did always wake up feeling oddly tired and stiff. He put it down to being too used to sleeping in a bed, at that the ground was still holding on to some of its winter chill.

It continued for a few months, moving from a handful of nights a month to a couple of nights a week, so slowly that Fero barely noticed. He did notice, however, when he woke from a particularly light sleep by the roots of the tree, his eyes opening enough to see a ball of light as it faded away from above him, too bright and too close to be the moon.

He reached out towards it, frowning, and it melted away, wisps of light drifting towards Samol’s tree. Fero looked up at its silent branches.

“What are you up to?”

The tree said nothing, as always, but this time Fero closed his eyes and  _ listened _ as hard as he could.

He could hear the various creatures he’d had a hand in bringing into the world, and the ocean against Rosemerrow’s shore, and the low murmur of people in the Outhouse. He leant forward, his forehead touching the tree’s smooth bark. He could hear… something. Something where there was nothing.

He dug his fingers into the soil underneath him, senses straining. He could almost hear it, he could almost reach it. It was like... like… feathers, and scales, and wings, and the whole of Hieron, alive in way it hadn’t been for  _ months _ , since-

Fero’s eyes snapped open.

The ball of light was back, pulsing in time with his breath. Fero reached out a hand again, slowly, and the light reacted, moving in response, as though he was shaping it, helping it grow.

_ Hieron’s Breath _ , Samol had said.

Fero swallowed. He was glad he was sitting down.

He took a deep breath in and slowly let it out, blowing onto the light. The light shuddered, pulsing again. He blew another breath onto it, watching it grow bright. 

Fero bit his lip, looking up at the branches of the tree. The silence was  _ expectant _ now, the silence of someone waiting.

He nudged the light, just a little, towards the tree. It was more instinct than anything else, but he had gotten this far in life just following that.

The light sunk into the tree as though the bark were water. The tree shuddered once, twice, three times, the third tremor shaking the earth under him. A crack in the back of the tree formed in front of where Fero was sitting and he sprang back, watching open-mouthed as the tree cracked open, almost in two.

The light was even brighter in the centre of the tree, too bright to look at. Fero tried to anyway, squinting through his fingers. There was a pulse of light and sound, animals and people and the sound of the earth crashing against itself. The sound ran through him like a knife, the blow pushing him to the ground.

Fero cried out, although he couldn’t hear it over the rush of sound.

It faded slowly, leaving him sprawled on the ground, panting and ears ringing. He pushed himself up, arms shaking with the effort, and looked towards the tree.

There was a figure inside, collapsed in the same way he was. Fero crawled towards them, his legs shaking too much manage to stand.

The figure seemed to be in the same condition Fero was in, panting, their arms shaking as they pushed themselves up into a sitting position. The movement put them more into the moonlight, where it was filtering through the branches of the tree. Fero gasped.

“ _ Samol _ ?”

Samol looked up at him, his face just the same as when Fero had last seen him.

Samol opened his mouth, made a face, clearing his throat before speaking. “Fero?” He looked down at himself and then back up at Fero. “What am I-  _ what _ did you do?”

“I don’t know,” said Fero, “I was asleep. Is it really you?”

“If it wasn’t, how would I know?” said Samol, “I feel real enough, which is a mighty surprise, I’ll tell you.” He gave Fero a look. “Though you always one to surprise me.”

Fero laughed. He managed to move forward, more flopping into Samol than giving him a hug. Samol didn’t seem to mind, his arms a little clumsy as he pulled Fero close to him.

“I really was just asleep,” said Fero, “Your tree did most of the work.”

Samol huffed a laugh, and Fero laughed again, delighted by the sound of it, delighted that he could feel Samol warm and alive and breathing where his face was pressed, only slightly awkwardly, against Samol’s chest.

“I suppose it is good to be back,” said Samol.

  
  
  
  


_ +1 _

_ worship _

There had been a lot of fussing around, after. And celebrating, obviously, but mostly, it seemed to Fero, fussing.

Samot insisted that Samol be in bed to rest. Samol rolled his eyes and let out a huff as Samot and Hadrian helped him into bed, moving slowly but steadily.

“It’s not every day a god comes back from the dead,” said Samot, “You-”

A messenger broke through the crowd in the doorway, heading towards Ephrim. Samot looked from his father, to Ephrim, and back again. 

Samol chuckled. “Go. I’ll still be here when you solve whatever catastrophe is happenin’ now.”

Samot grinned. “You will, won’t you!”

Samol pushed himself up, kissing his son on the forehead. “I will. Go on.”

Samot leaned back, taking a breath. “Alright, everybody out! My father needs to rest!”

Samol met Fero’s eyes, tilting his head towards the open window. Fero winked at him as he was ushered out, turning into a sparrow the first moment he was out of sight and fluttering up to Samol’s window.

He hopped on the windowstill, chirping a greeting to Samol before fluttering to his bed, then to the chair beside him before he turned back into a halfling again.

“Hi,” said Fero, “How’s resting going?”

“I think I done enough restin’” said Samol, “but if it makes my son that happy I guess I’ll lie down some.”

His eyes slid to Fero. Fero felt his pulse jump, his toes curling against the floorboards.

“You feel like keepin’ me company?”

“Yeah, okay,” said Fero, “I mean, if you want.”

“I do want,” said Samol.

Samol reached out a hand, carding his fingers through Fero’s hair, his hand sliding down until it was resting over the patch of crystals on Fero’s neck. Fero let out a long breath, leaning into Samol’s touch. He lifted a hand, putting it on top of Samol’s.

“You’re really  _ back _ ,” said Fero softly.

Samol hummed. “Hieron pulled me back, I’m guessing, thanks to you.”

“I’m not Hieron,” said Fero.

“You are now,” said Samol, “I can feel it in you as surely as I can feel it in myself. Here.”

Samol stroked down his shoulder, the pressure of his hand warm and comforting. Fero leant towards him more, leaning on the side of the bed with his arms. He felt liquid, like the rivers running through Hieron. He felt the air under his wings. He felt the busy movement of a thousand creatures. He felt as solid as the earth under him. He felt Samol, like wisps on the edge of his awareness. He stretched towards Samol, dimly away that he was moving his body as well, crawling onto the bed.

Samol chuckled and Fero blinked, feeling himself flush slightly at being pressed against Samol. He moved to pull away but Samol slid an arm around his waist, shifting Fero that he was straddling Samol instead.

“I thought you were resting,” said Fero.

“Told you,” said Samol, “had enough of restin’.”

He pulled Fero towards him, or maybe Fero pushed himself towards Samol, or maybe it was both. It was hard to tell in the tangle of sensations, feeling every part of Hieron in his bones and feeling  _ Samol _ feel it too.

One of Samol’s hands tangled in Fero’s hair while the other ran down Fero’s back. Fero made a keening noise, clutching at Samol’s shoulders. They stayed like that for a while, kissing languid and slow as the tide.

Samol’s hand slid lower, cupping Fero’s ass. Fero moaned, feeling Samol smile against his lips as he repeated the motion. Their kisses got a little faster, more like a forest in a storm than a steady ocean. Fero rocked his hips against Samol, grinning at the hitch of Samol’s breath.

Samol shifted, so that his thigh was in-between Fero legs, angling it against Fero. Fero shuddered, his hands pulling at the opening of Samol’s shirt, widening it so he could lower his head to mouth at the skin there.

He felt one of Samol’s hands slide around to the front of him and Fero slowed his motions, letting Samol slide a hand inside his pants. They’d done this a few times, at the Mark of the Erasure, taking their time with each other in the silence of old towers and new spring. Samol must have remembered it well, teasing a finger along Fero’s slick opening before he pressed inside. Fero moaned, half-muffling the sound on Samol’s chest.

Fero gasped, half formed thoughts spilling from him as Samol quickened his motions, how much he has missed Samol, and this, and he could feel- could feel Samol, could feel  _ everything _ .

Samol hummed, leaning down to kiss him. “Think we might’ve gotta a little twisted together when you brought me back.”

Fero’s fingers clutched in Samol’s shirt. “Good. Stops you from leaving again.”

Samol chuckleed, cupping the back of Fero’s head and drawing him in for a deep kiss. He added another finger, swallowing Fero’s groans.

Fero babbled as they broke apart for air, on the edge of a cliff, the cusp of a wave, a bird about to dive from a great height-

Samol shushed him. “I’ve got you.”

He did, and Fero could feel it, where Samol’s feelings tangled with his, holding him close, and tight, and safe and he was alive and here and he  _ loved _ -

Samol held Fero close to him as he came back to himself. Fero made a face, wriggling out of his pants. Samol folded back some of the covers and Fero grinned, sliding in beside him and wrapping his arms around Samol. He buried his face in the crook of Samol’s neck before he kisses a path back to Samol’s mouth.

The heat of it was slower, this time, reminding Fero more of their time together at the Mark of the Erasure. Certainly, in this moment, he felt like there was no one else for miles, just him and Samol, together.

He slid a hand down Samol’s chest. “Can I-?”

Samol smiled, kisses him so slowly it made Fero feel  _ dizzy _ . “Was hopin’ you’d ask.”

Fero laughed, unfastening Samol’s pants and pulling them down a little so he could get a hand around Samol. Samol shuddered as Fero gripped him. Fero could feel the thrum of  _ life _ to him, spreading out across the whole of Hieron. He reached out, to the place their feelings, their magics, were tangled together, and touched that, too, keeping time with his hand. Samol shuddered again, his eyes fluttering closed.

Fero stilled. “Too much?”

“Little too fast maybe,” said Samol. He took a breath, looking up at Fero and reaching out a hand to cup Fero’s cheek. “No need to rush. We got time.”

Fero bit his lip, pulling Samol into a kiss before he moved his hand again, the other stroking along the inside of Samol’s thigh. He could feel Samol getting close, like a tide rising and pulling at something in Fero.

He pressed a light kiss to Samol’s lips. “I’ve got you too, you know.”

Samol shuddered again, spilling over Fero’s hand. Fero thought for a moment, then ducked his head, cleaning Samol with his tongue.

Samol groaned, flopping backwards and putting an arm over his face. “You’re gonna-” he broke off with a laugh. “I was gonna say you’d be the death of me, but that just ain’t true, now.”

Fero laughed, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. “Yeah!”

He shifted, wriggling so that he was pressed close to Samol’s side, with Samol’s arm tucked around him.

“Now,” said Fero, his voice as serious as he could make it when he couldn’t manage to stop smiling, “you should get some rest. Doctor’s orders.”

Samol huffed a laugh. “If I should then you should too. That’s how it’s gonna work now.”

Fero made a face before breaking into a grin. “Yeah, okay, you’ve convinced me. I guess I  _ have _ to stay here.”

“You don’t,” said Samol, “But I’d like you too.”

Fero stilled. He swallowed. “Yeah, that’d be- I’d like that too.”

Samol’s arm tightened around him, pulling the covers over both of them properly. Fero watched Samol’s eyes slip closed before he gave himself over to sleep. He could feel their hearts beating together with the tide.

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi: mariusperkins on most places


End file.
